our chuck todd reports the speech will be shorter than president clinton's last night. also, reportedly will not be a laundry list of accomplishments. will the president be able to capture the passion of his past big speeches? >> people don't expect government to solve all their problems, but they sense deep in their bones that with just a slight change in priorities we can make sure that every child in america has a decent shot at life. and that the doors of opportunity remain open to all. they know we can do better, and they want that choice. we measure the strength of our economy not by the number of billionaires we have or the profits of the fortune 500, but by whether someone with a good idea can take a risk and start a new business, or whether the waitress who lives on tips can take a day off and look after a sick kid without losing her job, an economy that honors the dignity of work. >> and tonight's address comes

exactly two months before election day, making the president's challenge even more urgent. the big question, what does he need to say to recapture the energy and enthusiasm from years past? let me bring in our political panel. we have chris matthews, host of "hardball" and nationally syndicated talk show host michael. michael, i'm sorry you don't have your own live studio audience. chris apparently brought his posse with him. so chris, tell me exactly what the president needs to say tonight. >> well, i think it's very important that the president be very based in reality. i mean, everyone knows the unemployment rate. everyone knows the number of jobs being created. it's all public information. so he's not bringing news to us about the state of this country. that's the important thing. we got the news. we know what's going on. the american people out there watching on television don't want to be told something that's a fairy tale.

he has to talk -- i mean, i've compared it to getting a booster shot. he has to go out and give people a booster shot. it's going to hurt a little, but it's going to work for the long term. he has to say that. what i've been doing, it's going to hurt a little, it's going to be good for the long term. i heard the other day that former president bill clinton said to him, don't get flowery rhetoric in the beginning of this speech. give reality. i think that's a big part of tonight, reality. >> as i mentioned, chuck todd is reporting the speech will not have a laundry list of accomplishments. chris, you saw rahm emanuel and vice president joe biden repeating the line that the president simply needs this bumper sticker that osama bin laden is dead and gm is alive and well. you hear a lot of his supporters say this administration and this president does not talk enough about his accomplishments, particularly, for example, health care even. >> i thought governor patrick of massachusetts was the best at that. that guy came on like thunder

and point after point open service. the man put it all together. i would try to learn from him. the most important lesson this week is president obama can't do this alone. he needs confederates. jack kennedy once said we don't need friends, we need confederates. we need people out there in the field fight our cause. that's what you need. i want to see michelle. i want to see rahm emanuel. i want to see governor patrick. i want to see all those people out in the field, bill clinton leading the way as confederates for this guy. they can't go back in to putting their staff on television. give me a brk. nobody wants to hear from the staff. they want to hear from grown-up politicians. it's an election. those are the people who can vouch -- how can you vouch for your boss? he's paying your salary. you want to hear a guy vouch for you who's got their own

constituencies and has some authority. i don't understand why they keep packing shows with staffers. people want to hear from grown-ups. show you've got followers. they've got to get out there and show some backbone and defend this guy. i really mean this. >> i can teleyl you mean it by your inflection. >> until he's got followers out there in the field, he's not going to look strong. >> i think a lot of people certainly agree with you on that notion. let me bring in michael. the president has to explain how he would break the partisan fever in washington. how does he explain that when chris has reported, rachel last night, detailed the tick tock of how republicans in the house pledge to stand in the way and obstruct everything this president wants to make happen in the past four years? how can he break the fever?

>> well, i feel like chris christie following ann romney when i have to follow chris matthews on this program at this moment, especially with that great crowd. what he's got to do, i think, is pick up where president clinton left off because president clinton addressed this issue. you know, when he had that line and said for goodness sakes, he put hillary in thec cabinet as the secretary of state. when he hired a defense secretary, he hired a republican. he made the observation that president obama had reached across the aisle. i think you've addressed the biggest question that exists in the minds of many independents, which is, how is he going to move us forward given the polarization that is unpreced t unprecedented in modern history? i also think he needs to be self-deprecating. he needs to be real. he needs to acknowledge that he is disappointed with where we are right now. >> why does he need to be

self-deprecating? certainly at the rnc we didn't see self-deprecation there. we saw what many said were people praising their background. why does he need to be self-deprecating if he's being a leader? i'm a military kid. people don't often back down on what they've accomplished. you're mess, chris matthews. why does he need to be self-deprecating, michael? >> because he's in charge. the republicans are not in charge. chris is right. if he comes out with the normal conventional speech of platitudes, it's just not going to pass the smell test. the reality is that people who are proud of this president recognize the country isn't where we all wish it would be right now. that's what he has to say. >> let me play something from "morning joe." they were talking about how you score this game, the rnc versus the dnc. let me play their exchange and get your thoughts, chris. >> a home run is a home run. i would expect barack obama to

step up and hit his home run tonight. it'll be judged as a home run. >> and if he does, i've got to say this will be remembered as one of the most successful conventions, if you judge it by what a party needs to do and whether they hit that mark. but boy, every day we get into this convention deeper -- >> they seem disjointed. >> the weaker republicans seemed in tampa. >> they do. >> so saying the republicans look weaker. if obama can hit a home run, this is a successful convention. what do you say? >> well, let me respond to what we just heard. there is a total difference between the republican convention and the democratic convention. a total difference. joe scarborough points it out. the republican party was kind of a miserable business convention where people came because they had to come so the boss would see them there. they didn't like their

candidate. they don't like romney. they sort of like ryan, but they're not very enthused. they hate obama. they're haters as a group. and they use tactics like welfare and food stamps and all the other birther crap to make their points. but they're a miserable lot. i'm telling you, once they get taken over by the tea party, they haven't been a happy political party because tea partiers are miserable. that's the problem. this is a happy crowd. and it's happy because it knows -- it knows it's the best of america. if you look at it, it looks like america. that other party doesn't look like america. that's the problem. it's so obvious it's a happy group of people that are happy because this is their home. they don't feel like they're guests at republican convention like most people do. it's a totally different environment. >> the president and democrats are hoping that infectious crowd

can carry on. >> -- he would have basked in this. he should be walking around with these people who are all going to be working for him. he shouldn't be coming in at the last minute. i think the more he spends time with this crowd, the happier and better campaign he's going to be. >> the infectious and happy crowd that's there, that this will spread out. he needs to overperform in some key groups if he's going to win in november. if, in fact, your assessment, and i have no reason to disagree, those people are happy, they have to pass that on to other democrats who need to show up. >> well, i agree with you he shouldn't be self-deprecating. he has to be honest. i think that's the right way. people know every day of their lives what it's like to live in america every day. you don't need to be told it's tough. i think you need to be told that if you stick on a line of policy and try to get some fairness, that it will be a better country. the only people who haven't had it tough the last four years are the rich.

they've had it easy. i think that's obvious. now they're afraid they might get somebody for the next four years who might start winning the battles. by the way, the best way to beat the right wing is to beat them. if he beats them in this election, they're finished. i think that's the point. the moderates will come back. jeb bush will come back. the people like chris christie will come back. the moderates will retake the party if you smash the right. i'm talking what i think the president believes because he's told people that. he thinks if he can win this election and break these people on the right, the moderates come back and be able to negotiate. the mitchell mcconnells will be shut up for a while. >> michael, if you want more time, you're going to have to have a crowd of people behind you next time. i can't resist talking to chris with his huge posse and entourage. thank you, michael. thank you to chris and all his fans who apparently showed up. thank you. next on "news nation" -- >> that $716 billion is exactly to the dollar the same amount of

medicare savings that he has in his own budget. >> they are calling it the great rebuttal. in addition to taking on medicare claims, the national journal says clinton took the central question of governor romney's campaign and turned it on its head. next up, former governor ed rendell will join me to talk about the big speech from former president bill clinton. first, the democrats add what had could be an emotional moment in this final night of the convention. former arizona congresswoman gabby giffords will deliver tonight's pledge of allegiance. she continues to recover from her gunshot injuries. that will be a big moment, ladies and gentlemen. join our conversation on my twitter page. even if you're a member of the chris matthews fan club, we invite you to visit us. welcome aboard! [ chuckles ]

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if you want a country of shared opportunities and shared responsibility, a we're all in this together society, you should vote for barack obama and joe biden. >> the romney campaign just released a new ad in response to former president bill clinton's big speech defending president obama. take a look. >> as the economy gets worse, barack obama calls on bill clinton to help his failing campaign. >> it's about which candidate is more likely to return us to full employment. >> he's a good soldier helping his party's president, but what did bill clinton say about barack obama in 2008? >> give me a break. this whole thing is the biggest

fairy tale i've ever seen. >> and former president clinton issued what some are calling a much better defense of president obama's record than the president's team starting with the economy. >> president obama started with a much weaker economy than i did. listen to me now. no president, no president, not me, not any of my predecessors, no one could have fully repaired all the damage that he found in just four years. >> and joining me now former pennsylvania governor ed rendell and chicago sun times chief bureau chief. governor rendell, what do we make of governor romney releasing that ad, maybe trying to do some damage control? the words certainly stung. >> as soon as they -- if the republicans are playing that game, we also saw the convention

using a tape of the debate that mitt romney had with kennedy where the late senator absolutely sliced and diced him. so i think there's a lot of old tape around, and we'll be seeing a lot of it. the point is people have records. >> absolutely. governor rendell, people have records and they come back to haunt. we heard the former president last night not just talk with rhetoric. he went to the hard facts in his rebuttal of a lot of what the republican strategists have come on this show and others and tried to tell. let me play what the former president said about job creation alone. >> since 1961, for 52 years now, the republicans have held the white house 28 years, the democrats, 24. in those 52 years, our private economy has produced 66 million private sector jobs. so what's the job score?

republicans, 24 million. democrats, 42. >> there he's talking about the party, but he also specifically talked about this notion that the president was somehow gutting or stealing from medicare, the same amount of money in savings that was in the ryan plan. what do you make of this dot-to-dot rebuttal from the former president? >> the republicans, i think, maid a big mistake in the last two months holding up bill clinton as the model. he's the democratic president that we should strive for. did they think bill clinton wasn't going to be there for barack obama? did they think bill clinton didn't care about progressive values? they made a terrible mistake because bill clinton literally buried them last night. he buried -- he buried the lie on welfare reform. barack obama does not want to end the work requirement. he gave that waiver only if the

work requirement could be improved and work participation goes up. he buried them -- he buried them on stealing from medicare. he showed that all president obama did was reduce reimbursement to insurance companies, and by doing that saved money, which made the medicare trust fund sol vented for an additional eight years. he killed them on the debt. he was a great, great, great arbitor, explaining what the facts are. >> if i may jump in, that's true, good night. but you're going to have -- i mean, if anyone thinks that this seals the deal, we're far from it. you've got waves of television ads, whether or not this welfare issue is -- it's not going to go away. i agree he has the -- the romney team has distorted and misstated the president's position, but it's still out there all over the place in paid ads. we're also coming up in a few weeks to the three presidential

debates and the vice presidential debate. it was a real good night for obama last night. he'll probably do a great speech tonight. mrs. obama did a great speech. finally, they're talking about the record in ways that are simpler than they have been. people can understand it. but it doesn't -- this is just a good series of days. the paid ads are still out there. nothing was put to rest. >> hang on for a second. nothing was put to rest, but nevertheless facts are facts. we have people on the romney campaign n the romney team who said they would not be beheld to fact checkers, whatever that means. the bottom line, lynn, is that if you have people who are so-called low information voters, which i hate that term. people have jobs. they have lives. they can't watch cable tv or see every piece of information. what you read and see online is a lot of people believe that was a credible speech from bill clinton as opposed to congressman rooen's speech who instantly was littered by

members of his own party as a speech filled with lies. >> i agree, which is why -- >> tamron -- >> let me speak quickly. >> what's fairly important is credibility. you hit it right on the nose. the marathon lie that paul ryan told, the marathon lie, it's a small thing. it's about a race, but it contributes top the belief that this guy cannot tell the truth. he's lost his credibility with the american people, and bill clinton is our wise old uncle who we believe. >> lynn, i'll let you get the last word on that. he's not everybody's uncle. he's had his issues, certainly, even with the party. last night based on what we saw and if we want to juxtapose it against the vice president nominee, congressman paul ryan, if you just put those speeches head to head, and you're a person who's undecided or independent, if these people exist, the numbers are about 5% of the population who votes about that, what do you do to

decide who's credible, who will take this country in the right direction? >> if you only have 48 minutes to focus on this entire election, the bill clinton speech framed everything and went from a to z. ryan just didn't -- his speech didn't come close to being as good. president obama has the -- the governor said enormous credibility with a lot of people. this is aimed at undecided voters. >> lynn, thank you very much. governor ed rendell. always a pleasure having you both on. next up, the chairman of the congressional black caucus, congressman emanuel cleaver will join me live. >> as the god of abraham, isaac, and jacob sits on the throne of grace, mr. president. >> you see the reaction from last night during congressman cleaver's speech. i'll talk with him. what was he thinking in that moment? plus, two of tonight's speakers, congresswoman tammy baldwin and philadelphia mayor michael

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plus, 10 grams of protein. so it's energy straight from nature to you. nature valley protein bars. if being liberal and progressive means that i care for children and whether they go hungry, color me liberal. color me. color me democrat. if being a democrat means that i'm concerned about our people, color me democrat. color me liberal. >> congressman emanuel cleaver going off script and defending the democratic party's ideals. he had the crowd fired up. gave one of the convention's most rousing speeches so far. has a lot of people talking and tweeting. congressman cleaver is the chairman of the congressional black caucus. he joins us live from charlotte. chairman, thank you so much for your time. i have to ask you, i've seen you speak many times. you were in south florida, a town hall. i know you can light a crowd up. last night you were in your

moment. what was going through your heart and your mind when you saw those folks on their feet? >> well, people have talked about this enthusiasm gap, and i think we demonstrated last night, particularly through the speech given by president bill clinton, that there is no enthusiasm gap. i think democrats are fired up, ready to go. i think you're going to find that as this convention ends, a new campaign will begin. and that is people are going to go out and do the old-fashioned stuff. that is we're going to put people on drugs. we want to say the day after the election we drug ten people to the polls. we drug 20 people to the polls. we have to be energized in charlotte and return to our

homes and energize people at home. >> what about the message coming out from this? chris matthews, to use the term fired up, since that's the theme, very very passionate about believing the president does not have a strong back-up team. that there are not enough surrogates going on "meet the press" and other places, who are knocking down the notion that the president is stealing medicare or somehow he plans to gut parts of programs that save and help lives here with health care reform, for example. what's his back-up team going to be like when you leave charlotte tomorrow? >> well, there are men and women who can go across the country and tell the story. i'll tell you what equipped them. president bill clinton took the nation to school last night. he was able to become a

professor of facts, and he began to erase the fact-free presentation we heard a week ago in tampa. so i think now many people, even here in charlotte, did not realize how simple it was to be able to tell exactly what was presented. >> forgive me for interrupting, but the romney campaign is already out with an ad saying look what bill clinton said about barack obama in 2008. they are using unflattering characterizations, unflattering words from clinton back then. what's your response to that ad out just within the last few hours? >> well, you know, if you live in a glass house, you shouldn't throw stones. i think that mr. romney realizes that we can bring up clip after clip after clip of republicans who said that he was ill-fit to be president. and so i don't think that's the issue now. let's talk about the issues.

mr. romney clearly doesn't want to talk about the issues. i think that's exactly what we want. bring the issues on. that's our strong suit. the policies that the democrats are presenti ining are the poli the american public embraces. and i think if the american public actually knew what the republicans were cooking up, they wouldn't eat. >> well, it is the responsibility of your party, as you mentioned, and other supporters to get those messages out. thank you so much and congratulations on an amazing speesh. thank you, sir. >> thank you. >> four years ago the level of enthusiasm for the president was historic. how can the president capture the magic if it is gone, as some have said? i'll talk with presidential historian douglas brinkley. on every one of our cards there's a date. a reminder... that before this date, we have to exceed expectations. we have to find new ways to help make life easier, more convenient

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romney campaign put more than $4 million in tv ads. here's a look at some of the ads from both campaigns on the web right now. >> you think i didn't see you with sara jessica parker and george clooney? you're not the person i thought you were. it's not me. it's you. >> in an economy like this, the last thing we should do is raise taxes on the middle class. >> nbc news deputy political editor, obviously those are web ads. the others will hit the tv very soon in battleground states. this is the next level of the game after the conventions. >> yeah, like you said, tamron, $4.5 million is going up now that the romney campaign is buying up in eight battleground states. in three key states, virginia, florida, ohio, almost $1 million there they're spending. where is this election coming down to? no question about it.

you at those three states, that's what the romney campaign sees. despite the pick of paul ryan from wisconsin, no advertising in wisconsin, no advertising in michigan, no advertising in pennsylvania. really quite striking. >> all right. thank you very much. we'll talk with you tomorrow. and when he takes the stage tonight, president obama will certainly try to rekindle enthusiasm that swept the nation only four years ago. the 2008 election was a once in a lifetime historic event. since then, many have said the president has not done enough as far as communicating his message despite his great oratory. in "the new york times," nicklas writes, a president's central job is not pollty but national team captain. there obama failed us. joining me now, douglas brinkley. thank you so much for joining

me. what do you make of this ad saying that he believes the president has failed, he did not live up to this franklin roosevelt, the fireside chat? >> well, i don't think -- it's a different era. when the fireside chats went on, it was fdr using radio to talk about the great depression. i think president obama's on tv all the time. he's done about as many interviews as any president could be. in fact, some people say he's been overexposed. but what i think is true is that while some of president obama's speeches read well on paper, you could read his foreign policy plank from his nobel prize winning speech or his cairo speech. i could list you 20 of them. but you don't really have that moment that you feel president obama healed us. i think back to tucson when the congresswoman was shot, and that was a fairly riveting moment. he's yet to have one of those defining speeches. after all, fdr was selling the new deal. what has barack obama been

selling? i'm going to help get us out of the recession. he doesn't quite that the historic magnitude of the era of fdr. >> we were looking, of course, at the speech in 2004, 2008. the stakes are different, as you pointed out. these are not the same set of circumstances as far as time and where we are as a country. advisers have said the president is not going to go down a laundry list of his accomplishment ps. this will be a shorter speech than many we've seen in the past. do you believe that's a wise strategy at this point? >> i think short is always good, although bill clinton's the exception to the rule. he was babe ruth last night. he went long and scored. but i think in denver in 2008, it was yes, we can, which is a cesar chavez grassroots thing. charlotte's a very small, tight quarters. he's now not the affairs.

he's the old hand. he's getting us out of iraq, afghanistan, killed osama bin laden. i would go very commander in chief. mitt romney did not evoke the troops properly, afghanistan or iraq. in fact, we're at war. i'd also go ronald raeagan a little bit. talk about people who need help that are dying because they can't get a proper doctor to treat their liver or they don't have somebody to help them with their heart condition. >> as i understand it, you also said, and this is a quote, that he needs to be more african-american poll pit than professorial. >> he's got to show some emotion, particularly when you're following bill clinton. i was there in charlotte last night. it's electrifying, bill clinton. that's your warm-up act, boy, you better be good. you just don't want to do a kind of tell prompt eprompter, as if addressing the nation during a

bp oil spill talking in a mundane way. you want to get your voice going. show some of the emotion. he does that on the campaign. i caught the president in ohio. when he gets into, if we had let general motors fail, toledo would have failed, and because of champion spark plugs or dayton would have failed and akron, people go crazy for that because mitt romney saying, i would have abandoned detroit, is his weakest suit. while your commander in chief be presidential, but when you start getting into the economy, really throw some red meat to that crowd. by the time the president's done, you want this to be seen as a one-two punch, clinton, obama, with the first lady setting the stage. >> okay. thank you so much. always a great pleasure to get your history, your knowledge of it, and certainly the direction things are going in this country. we all need to look back occasionally, if not more often. thank you, douglas. ahead of tonight's acceptance speech by president obama and vice president biden, among those who will be setting the

stage, congresswoman tammy baldwin, who's now running for one of the most important senate seats in this country, the crucial swing state of wisconsin. if she wins, she would become the first openly gay u.s. senator in history. also with us, philadelphia mayor michael nutter. they join us both from charlotte. thank you so much for your time. congresswoman, i'll start with you. we just heard the report that the romney campaign has decided not to advertise in wisconsin. we know part of the challenges you face, in addition to facing tommy thompson, is you have paul ryan as well and his history in that state. what do you make of the decision by the romney campaign not to put a lot of money in wisconsin, even though it's an important state? >> well, i know that democrats are putting a lot of resources into our state, and we were delighted with a visit from the first lady a week ago in milwaukee. the vice president visited green bay this past sunday. i got to join him. so on the democratic side, we are doubling down on this

presidential race and working very, very hard not only on my u.s. senate race but on electing fair-minded, progressive democrats up and down the ticket. >> how did it feel to see, for example, the party platform? and even the first lady talk about it's not relevant who you love. you would be the first openly gay member of the senate. dr. jill biden was just at an lgbt community meeting just this afternoon. how does that feel for you knowing you're in this political battle, but you're also in a social battle every day for acceptance from some within this country? >> well, i am one who truly believes that our legislative bodies are strongest when they look like america and reflect america. and you have to admit that if you're not in the room, it's a conversation about you. if you're in the room, it's a conversation with you. that changes everything. that said, wisconsin voters going to the polls on november 6th are thinking about jobs and the economy. they are hard workers.

they play by the rules, and they want to get ahead. fairness is their guide post. that is what i've been about. i've been fighting for hard working middle class families throughout my political career. that's what's going to matter most to wisconsin voters on november 6th. >> and mayor, let me bring you in. i'm a texan. i tell people i have my heart in texas but my soul when i lived in philadelphia for four years. what will you bring to the speech tonight? it's been incredible as douglas brinkley pointed out. the first lady's speech to representative cleaver, and now here you are. what's the tone or mess an you want to get across today? >> well, first and foremost, the conversation that the first lady michelle obama had with america about her values and the president's values and really about family values was one of the most incredible conversations i've heard in a long, long period of time. president bill clinton just really, beyond anything we've heard in recent times from the

president. then president obama later on tonight. my main goal is to talk about the president's record, president obama, the many things he's still, in my opinion, not received proper credit for and that the public still needs to know while talking about, again, the real record or lack thereof of mitt romney and the things that he's talked about but has no plans to do anything about. so that's my goal for this evening. it's a great honor to be a part of this. then sit back and relax and listen to our president, who we're going to work hard to get re-elected. >> you mentioned the credit you believe the president receives. in some of the states that are recovering that have a lower unemployment rate than the national average, particularly states with republican governors, the republican party has attempted to pull credit saying it's because of this republican governor or mayor that this particular town or state recovered, not by moves made by the president. what do you say to that notion?

>> i say it's really sad that folks are still focused so much on their political point scoring as opposed to representing the people. our jobs, regardless of political party, are to make sure that americans get back to work, that we invest in our cities, that we fix our bridges and roads and provide support for our schools rather than this fighting that leads to gridlock and grand standing. so they'll say whatever they say. we had a full week-long infomercial with bad information and sometimes just outright lies. our convention is about openness. our convention is about people. it's about policy. it's about facts and about getting stuff done in order to put americans back to work and move this country forward. >> mayor michael nutter, thank you so much. congresswoman tammy baldwin. good luck with your speeches tonight. we'll be watching you both. thank you. up next, star jones joints me live. she's in charlotte with the

national association of professional women. we know all this week the democrats have been talking about the importance of the female vote. what is she hearing on the ground? we'll talk to star. first, there's a lot going on today. the secret service is investigating the alleged theft of mitt romney's unpublished tax records. an anonymous letter is demanding just $1 million to not make the public. i would think they'd be worth more than that. is this real? romney's accounting firm says there was no evidence the files were stolen. and the dnc is drawing viewers around the world, including secretary of state hillary clinton. she watched and recorded versions of her husband's speech at u.s. embassy. she said it's a great honor for him to nominate the president but admitted the speech would not be short. >> my husband read parts of his speech to me over the last few days. i received the as-prepared version, which i'm anxious, when

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because that wonderful, bouncy, roll-around thing... had made you play. and that... had made you smile. [ announcer ] beneful. play. it's good for you. part of the president's job tonight is to solidify and extend the gains made with female voters. democrats also want to make sure that the overwhelming support for the president among african-americans and the latino community will translate to a high voter turnout come november. joining me now, star jones. she's the national spokesperson for the national association of professional women. she's also, of course, "today" show law and society contributor. first, star, let me talk to you about the national association of professional women. you're with this group. what were they looking for or looking to hear out of this convention and even the rnc? >> out of both conventions, they were looking to hear a commitment to women in business, in health, in education, and

growth for all practical purposes. national association of professional women is the largest connected organization in terms of making a network for professional women in our country. and so what we're looking to always hear is a candidate who speaks for us and speaks to us. i can't honestly say that the rnc provided a whole lot of hope in the area of women's health, women's small businesses, and women's further education. >> you know, former secretary madeline albright was on earlier this week. she said she does not have any idea how a woman could vote for mitt romney. do you believe those words are too strong or accurate? i know you're a supporter of president obama, so that will probably be seen as a softball question, but were those words too harsh? we know there are women who support governor romney. >> you know, i know there are women that support governor romney, but you know from me,

for a woman's position in this election, i look at issues that are very close to my own heart. that's health care. that's justice and in those two areas, equality and health care, that's where the failure comes in from a woman's perspective. for health care, the affordable care act is something that, quite frankly, levels the playing field for a whole lot of women, and that's important to napw members. i had open-heart surgery two years ago. that would have bankrupted my family and pretty much any family across this country. if i didn't have health insurance, i'm not sure if i would be here. i don't want another woman to have to face those kinds of choices. the affordable care act absolutely gives you access to preventive care. and as a black woman, don't i want preventive care? don't i want free screening for heart disease so that it can

show whether or not the genetic diso disorder that damaged my heart would damage my sister's next to me? those are the kinds of things you look for as a professional woman. how's it going to impact my business? a whole lot of my members are -- have their own small businesses run out of their own homes, and you know the small business recovery act is something that specifically speaks to that interest. >> all right. star, it's a great pleasure, as always, to have you on. again, you're a national spokesperson for the national association of professional women. a lot of talk about women. we'll see what the turnout is in november. thank you, star. it's always a pleasure seeing you. next up on "news nation," at the end of the day, after all of these speeches are said and done, here's a question for you. will these conventions make a difference to undecided voters? it's our gut check. ♪

time now for the "news

nation" gut check. the latest poll out in just the past hour shows president obama leading mitt romney by a single point. the same as he did before the republican convention. a key number there is 7% remain undecided. so those are the voters president obama appealing to when he gives his big speech tonight. what does your gut tell you? in the end, will these conventions make a difference to those undecided voters? go to facebook.com/newsnation to cast your vote. that does it for this edition of "news nation." by the way, i have to end this by saying, how about those cowboys? now there are groans from these new yorkers. i'm tamron hall. "the cycle" is up next. whoa. right? get. out. exactly! really?! [ mom ] what? shut the front door. right? woop-woop! franklin delano! [ male announcer ] there's oreo creme under that fudge! oreo fud cremes. now in two new flavors. if we took the nissan altima and reimagined nearly everything in it?

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